Tyler Keenan
Tyler Keenan '''(born August 11th, 1991) is an American professional wrestler, model, former business executive and former reality TV star who is currently signed with Royal Wrestling Kingdom (RWK). Keenan is best known for his time in Next Generation Wrestling, where he was a former NGW Tag Team Champion with Christopher Jordan as the well-known team Extremely Lethal. He is a member of the wealthy Keenan family, a well-known and respectable family in the Los Angeles area. Son of a wealthy businessman and a socialite from Los Angeles, Tyler Keenan was known to the media and the public as a model and reality TV star before he shockingly made the decision to leap over to the professional wrestling scene, earning himself much media attention and discussion as to whether a reality star could make it in the business. Having only finished his run on the amateur scene in November 2014, Tyler is still considered a new face in the business as he made the jump to professional wrestling in January 2015. He is widely known for his heel character, a gimmick that he is consistently portrayed throughout his career, a rich kid who has been given everything in life, but wants to prove to the world that he is more than that, showing off his wealth and cocky attitude unwittingly in the process. Depending on his alignment as heel or face, however, Keenan shows off different sides to the character from being a sympathetic rogue who works to his own ends to an evil villain that is cowardly and dastardly in his ways. He has gained and holds a number of nicknames under this gimmick including 'The First-Rate Manipulator' and 'The Modern-Day Wordsmith', all of which stem from the elegant and determined words that come from his mouth. He has worked all across North America, from Seattle to New York, before settling down in New York in early 2016. As of late 2016, he has now resumed travelling North America once again, moving to places like Louisiana and back to New York on a regular basis. In 2016, he spent a few months working for independent promotions in Japan under his arrogant rich kid gimmick. Early Life Keenan was born in Los Angeles, California on August 11th, 1991 and raised in Hollywood, California. He is the twin of model and designer Katrina 'Kitty' Keenan, whom he is older than by two minutes. His father is entrepreneur and businessman Vernon Keenan and his mother is socialite Alicia Keenan. He attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, California and graduated from the University of California with a degree in psychology. Professional Wrestling Career '''Early Career Tyler's first stint into wrestling was when he enrolled as a student of Chris Calhoun at his wrestling school in Santa Monica, California. There, he was trained by Calhoun himself, who was a popular technical wrestler in the 1970s, to become a professional wrestler. Whilst training there, Keenan made his first professional debut, working some pay-per-appearance deals for some low-level independent wrestling promotions in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. After a few months of training and working the independents, both Keenan and Calhoun began to send out tapes of Keenan's wrestling ability in the hopes that it would get more and more people interested in what the kid could do. This allowed Keenan to expand more into the connecting states and got him more and more renown on the independent stage. Next Generation Wrestling (2015 - Present) Signing & Debut In January 2015, Tyler Keenan received his first big break on the professional wrestling scene after it was announced that he, along with a lot of other young talents, was in talks with Next Generation Wrestling, an upcoming wrestling federation which was set to be the developmental program of Pro Wrestling ARK. Keenan attended a trial and was signed immediately, earning himself a developmental contract within the promotion, allowing himself to learn from people like Guernica, Nathan Cage and the World's Kawaiiest Tag Team, who went down to help train the new talent. On January 14th 2015, it was announced that at NGW: A New Hope, Tyler Keenan would face Shane Anzalone, Victor and Carlos Bello for a place in the Heavyweight Championship Battle Royal at Doomsday on February 15th. At 'New Hope', Carlos Bello was the one who triumphed over the other three via Pinfall on Keenan. Next, on March 1st, it was announced that Tyler Keenan would be teaming with Chris Jordan, fighting two men called Storm Andrews and Ryan Vendetta at NGW: Doomsday. On March 31st, Tyler Keenan and Chris Jordan lost to The Danger Zone after Jordan was pinned, but stayed together due to their backstage friendship and called themselves 'Extremely Lethal'. At NGW Uprising, The World's Kawaiiest Tag Team defeated Extremely Lethal, The Danger Zone and Beauty and the Beast to become the inaugural NGW Tag Team Champions, adding another loss to the record of both men. However, following the Pay-Per-View, NGW General Manager. Walter Graham, announced that at the next show: NGW Downfall, Extremely Lethal would face off against The World's Kawaiiest Tag Team for the NGW Tag Team Championships following both of their 'spectacular performances' at Uprising. Tag Team Title Contention At NGW Downfall, Extremely Lethal came close to defeating the World's Kawaiiest Tag Team, but fell short at the very end and suffered a heartbreaking defeat. Their loss kept them off the card at NGW Cyberclash, but they made an appearance by interrupting an episode of the Danger Show, held by their rivals Storm Andrews and Ryan Vendetta, trashing the set and wreaking havoc to prove a point to the world. Following this, Tyler Keenan was announced as a member of Team Graham in a 5 on 5 match alongside Chris Jordan in the historic first ever 5v5 tag team match at Fallout, where Team Graham (Chris Young, Carlos Bello, Chris Jordan, Tyler Keenan and Walter Graham) would face off against Team Guernica (Sloane, Raine, Storm Andrews, Ryan Vendetta and Guernica) with the fate of the company at stake. Tyler Keenan became the last man standing of Team Graham, fighting until the bitter end and scoring himself two eliminations over Sloane and Storm Andrews. He fought Guernica, as both men were the sole survivors of their teams, but could not prevail against him despite Guernica's injured arm. Tyler was crushed by the defeat, sick of not being able to defeat any of the tag teams in NGW, and pleaded with Walter Graham to give Extremely Lethal one last chance at the World's Kawaiiest Tag Team for the Championships. Graham agreed, but added the conditions that The Danger Zone would also be added to the match to try and remove them from the equation as well and that if Extremely Lethal lost, Tyler Keenan would become Walter Graham's puppet until the end of his contract, as Graham was banned from appearing at any shows due to the outcome of the Graham vs. Guernica match at Fallout, which Graham held Keenan accountable for. At NGW: Meltdown, Extremely Lethal did the impossible and managed to win the NGW Tag Team Championships amid speculation that they were nearing the end of their tenure in NGW. The two men celebrated for a while, before it was announced that they would be taking part in the Minefield Marathon event, and would be defending their new titles throughout the event. Keenan held this down to the increased tensions between himself and Graham, while multiple pundits believed that it was due to suspicions of favoritism that led Graham to make them defend their newly won titles against H.I.S.S. However, lightning did not strike twice for Extremely Lethal, as H.I.S.S. triumphed at The Phantom Agony and became the third Tag Team Champions in NGW History. Singles Run Following their loss at The Phantom Agony and multiple disagreements, Keenan and Jordan disbanded Extremely Lethal and became singles competitors. Later, it was announced that both Christopher Jordan and Tyler Keenan would be participants in a gauntlet match at NGW: Prisoners of Winter alongside the likes of Carlos Bello, Paul Ravana, KOU Kazuma and Trevor Raynor, with the winner going on to face either Kelsey Taylor or Brian Nebraska for the NGW World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of NGW: Anniversary, the major NGW Show of the year. At Prisoners of Winter, Tyler Keenan was the last entrant and booked himself a place in the main event of Anniversary against Kelsey Taylor after defeating his former tag team partner Christopher Jordan. However, at the end of the match, Keenan and Jordan shook hands, hinting at a possible face turn for Keenan. At the biggest NGW show of the year, NGW Anniversary, 'The Modern-Day Wordsmith' Tyler Keenan will take on the 'Ultraviolent Goddess' Kelsey Taylor for the NGW Championship in a singles match, with the added stipulation that Kelsey will lose the NGW Championship if she is disqualified by any means. However, NGW shut down shortly after the event was announced, leaving Keenan as the last sole contender to Kelsey Taylor's championship reign, something to this day he still believed he could end. Internet Wrestling Alliance (2015) ''' After his NGW: Fallout performance that the whole world seemed to see, Tyler Keenan became touted as a big shot on the American independent scene. Soon, rumours spread that Tyler Keenan had agreed terms to join the returning Internet Wrestling Alliance. The next day, on his Twitter account; he confirmed the deal saying: 'It looks like I'm moving up in the world. I'd like to thank @TheOfficialIWA for offering me a contract, I won't let you down'. - Tyler Keenan, 2015 Tyler Keenan appeared on the debut show of IWA, Resurrection, alongside the other members of Extremely Lethal and a man by the name of Issac Solo, who defeated the three of them in a fatal four way to become the number one contender to the IWA Internet Championship. '''National Championship Contention Despite his loss at Resurrection, Tyler Keenan was entered into a Beat the Clock challenge tournament alongside Chance Kelly, Latavius Achilles and Empress Esperanza. Knowing that he may not be able to win this alone, Tyler introduced a man by the name of Shayne Carter into the world of IWA and together, the two managed to win the challenge by defeating Empress Esperanza in the fastest time, after Tyler Keenan knocked Esperanza out with a pair of brass knuckles due to a distraction by Shayne Carter, to become the number one contender to the IWA National Championship, which was held by Weston Alexander at that point in time. On the September 28th edition of IWA: WarZone, history seemed to repeat itself when Keenan destroyed Lava Orsten with the brass knuckles after another distraction from Shayne Carter, causing her career to be kayfabe ended and causing a lot of backlash from the fans and other members of the IWA community for showing such a thing. Following this, in a fit of jealousy, Tyler Keenan interrupted the match between James Sloane, his old rival from NGW, and the National Champion Weston Alexander and ensured that Weston won to make sure James Sloane would not get an opportunity at the National Championship. On October 5th, Tyler Keenan lost to his old rival James Sloane, whom declared vengeance upon him after his actions the week prior. Keenan lost the match after he abandoned it and left the arena through the crowd, not chancing the fact that Sloane could seriously injure him and effect his match with Weston at the Pay-Per-View. At Built for Battle, Tyler Keenan was unable to defeat Weston Alexander after both men gave it their all and put on one of the best technical matches in the history of IWA. Keenan gave it his all and earned the respect of Weston Alexander, and seemingly broke kayfabe after the event by congratulating Weston on his victory and his newfound respect for the man on his social timeline. Feud with Evie Taylor and Departure On the October 26th edition of WarZone, Tyler Keenan lost to veteran Kyle Cross after his brass knuckle shot was seen by the referee and he was disqualified. He then interrupted the return of fan favourite and former IWA Women's Champion Evie Taylor by riling her up with personal issues, before putting her to sleep with a triangle choke. He would then embark on a vendetta against the IWA community by using Taylor as a scapegoat, tormenting her on her social timeline and in the outside world by publicly embarrassing her at a Halloween Party held by her best friend by making sexual approaches towards her. He then set alight a picture of her deceased father and made jokes about his sexuality on live television, causing his recording to be cut at the behest of the fans. The feud is held as one of the most controversial and disgusting things seen on IWA Television, but seems to be drawing in a lot of ratings. One of the most controversial things that happened in the feud was when Tyler spiked Evie's drink with whiskey, due to her inability to drink a large amount of alcohol, and stripped her down to her lingerie in the alley beside the nightclub, placing money in her bra and mouth before taking pictures of her before writing a note that pinned the blame on her date. He also then bribed the bouncer at the joint to take her home and convince her to become his girlfriend, only for Tyler to beat him up and kidnap him after the third date between the two. Keenan destroyed Floyd Uzee on the November 2nd edition on WarZone, winning the match before beating him ruthlessly with a steel chair. He then appeared to his rival, Taylor, on the titantron after her match and set alight a picture of her stepfather to torment her. On the November 9th WarZone, Tyler beat Avery Barnes in clinical fashion after assaulting her during her entrance with hidden brass knuckles. Following this, near the end of the show, Tyler convinced one-off commissioner Liz Smalls (who was unaware of his nefarious and manipulative reputation) into placing his rival Evie Taylor into a match against Priscilla Price for the rebooted IWA Women's Championship. He was set to face Ryan Corey next week on the one-off reboot of LiveWire, the original IWA TV show, but the match was scrapped due to Corey's release from IWA. At the Legacy PPV, Tyler Keenan and Evie Taylor faced off, no rules, no boundaries, where Tyler walked out victorious, with Shayne Carter dragging Evie along with them. He captured her and locked her in a white padded room in a location only known to Tyler and his selected circle, inflicting both mental and physical torture upon her until she began to crack. Once her Father, Adam Matthews, arrived after Tyler had him released from prison, Evie's mind began to crack, forcing her into a bubble of memories where she was a child living the life she could not, leaving her totally comatose and open to suggestion in the real world, much to Tyler's amazement. However, the storyline was cut short when IWA's deal in the Key Arena ran out, along with their Netflix deal, and IWA was forced to move to Washington State to continue. Tyler saw this as a bad move for his career, and was released from his contract in December of 2015. Pro Wrestling ARK (2015) After his performance at NGW: Fallout, Tyler Keenan entered talks with Next Generation Wrestling's sister promotion, Pro Wrestling ARK; a company that has contributed to many of the great stars of NGW, and NGW has contributed the same back as well. The next day, ARK officially announced the arrival of Tyler Keenan into the roster alongside Christopher Jordan and Handleson. Originally, many believed that Keenan was destined for a singles career in ARK. However, he was entered into the annual King of Trios tournament alongside Chris Jordan and the newest member of Extremely Lethal, Handleson. The trio advanced through to the second stage of the tournament by doing yet another impossible feat by defeating the team of the NGW Heavyweight Champion Jeffry Mason and Kelsey Taylor, known as the Bloodlust Revolution. Jackson Buckley was supposed to be their third man, but he did not show up and the team were left to fight as a tag instead of a trio. However, the trio came up unsuccessful against the next team in the tournament, the Queendom, after Christopher Jordan failed to overcome the onslaught they threw against him, leading to him to be defeated by the combined forces of the Queendom. After this, Keenan decided not to pursue anything in ARK, and returned to NGW alongside the rest of Extremely Lethal, although Handleson did not stay in the group for long afterwards. Royal Wrestling Kingdom (2017) Keenan emerged back into the wrestling spotlight in March 2017 at RWK Dragon's Den, the third show for the upcoming promotion Royal Wrestling Kingdom, saving former rival and Danger Zone member Ryan Vendetta from the combined forces of Odin Anaxagaros and Torunn Shock. Tyler's arrival had been hinted to in the weeks prior to the event through hidden vignettes, leading to an internet discussion as to whom the vignettes could be about. His save on Vendetta did not last for long, however, as Keenan swiftly turned on his ex-rival and beat him into the ground. Vendetta and Keenan, along with Odin Anaxagaros, are now booked into a triple threat match at RWK: Ruler of the Ring, with the former rivals now at each other's throats once again. Personal Life Keenan was born on August 5th, 1991 in the town of Los Angeles, California. His father is successful entrepreneur Vernon Keenan and his mother is a socialite named Alicia Keenan. He also has one sibling, his twin sister Katrina. Keenan has personally confirmed in interviews that he identifies himself as an atheist. He is also a big fan of the basketball team the L.A. Lakers and frequently visits their games during his spare time. Other than that, Keenan is a big film and comic fan and has frequently used art and music of that ilk for his attires and entrances. Keenan cites Batman as his favourite comic. Keenan owns two houses. One is a condo in Hollywood, California and the other is a penthouse apartment in New York City, New York. He frequently splits his time between both homes. A well-known music enthusiast, Keenan cites David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix as some of his influences, using their music as themes in Next Generation Wrestling. In January 2016, Keenan painted a Bowie-esque lightning bolt upon his face for one of his matches as a tribute to Bowie, who passed away earlier in the month. Keenan is also a fan of bands such as Black Sabbath and took a short holiday to Manchester in January 2017 to visit one of the band's final concerts. Tyler Keenan was in a relationship with former IWA competitor Evelyn Matthews, known by her ring name Evie Taylor. The two had feuded for the latter months of 2015, and ended the year by announcing their relationship. As of 2016, it has been confirmed that two have moved into an apartment together in Downtown New York, said to be in the Manhattan area. In late 2016, however, the two announced that they had gone their separate ways. It has been well-documented that Keenan suffered with an alcohol problem throughout 2016. Staying out of the limelight during that time, Keenan has opened up on the struggle that he went through in order to beat the addiction. "It was tough. I was going through a rough patch after the closure of NGW and I didn't know where else I could turn. The bottle was, in my opinion, the only answer. Turns out now that it was one of the worst things I could have done. It cost me a lot of relationships, including that of my girlfriend, and it almost cost me my career." - Tyler Keenan, January 2017. As of March 2017, Tyler Keenan has confirmed he has been clean since May 2016. In Wrestling Finishing Moves * Allentown Vice (Hammerlock w/ body scissors) - 2013-2016 * Brass Element (Right-handed knockout punch, with brass knuckles) - 2015; used rarely thereafter * Deja Vu (Turnbuckle Powerbomb) - 2014-present * Hollywood Vice (Kimura lock w/ body scissors) - 2016-present * Streets of Gold (Running knee lift) - 2013-present Signature Moves * Lock of Ages (Dragon clutch) 2015-present; adopted from Jeffry Mason * Red Thunderclap - (Arm-trap Pele kick) - 2015-present * Penalty Shot - (Soccerball kick) - 2016-present Managers * Shayne Carter * Walter Graham Entrance Themes Next Generation Wrestling * 'I Can Do Anything' by 3OH!3 - 2015 * 'All Along the Watchtower' by Jimi Hendrix - 2015 * 'Hate Me' by Escape the Fate - 2015 * 'I'm Deranged' by David Bowie - January 2016 Internet Wrestling Alliance * 'All Along the Watchtower' by Jimi Hendrix - 2015 * 'Hate Me' by Escape the Fate - 2015 Royal Wrestling Kingdom * 'Do I Wanna Know?' by Arctic Monkeys - 2017 Nicknames * 'The Sole Survivor of Team Graham' * 'The Modern-Day Wordsmith' * 'The First-Rate Manipulator' * 'The Gold Standard' Championships and Accomplishments Next Generation Wrestling * NGW Tag Team Champion (1 time) with Christopher Jordan __FORCETOC__